Was this in the job description?
by soundslikeaplan
Summary: When Joey starts working for Seto Kaiba, odds are that they'll kill eachother soon. But odds are just another word for predictions and since when were those reliable? Seto/Joey Puppyshipping, puzzleshipping, tendershipping on the side. mig
1. Morning Calls

Plot Summary:When Joey starts working for Seto Kaiba, odds are that they'll kill eachother soon. But odds are just another word for predictions and since when were those reliable? Seto/Joey Puppyshipping, puzzleshipping, tendershipping on the side.

Hey guys! This is my first attempt ath writing fanfiction, so please bare with me. ^^' I know my Englisch isn't perfect (I really need to find a beta Reader soon... DD:) but I try my best. if you find any mistakes/ errors, please tell me and I'll see to it immediately. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters in any way. The only thing I do own are the idea for this story.

:::

Chapter One: Morning Calls

Seto Kaiba was not a superstitious person. He didn't believe in black cats crossing from left was a bad omen, he didn't think that you had any more bad luck on a Friday 13th and thought that karma was just plain overrated.

Not that he was overly pessimistic; he just had learned at quite an early age that being nice didn't get you anything in live.

He had been a nice kid. He had always looked up to his parents, had been well-behaved, and always cared for his little brother. And then they had died and his world had been turned upside down. During his life in the orphanage he had learned that you only got through, when you made yourself superior. He had learned that you only got what you wanted by cheating and he had only managed to become what he was today through being coldhearted and making everyone believe he was a complete ass: the heir of KaibaCorb, presumably one of, if not even _the,_ most successful company on the market right now.

No, Seto Kaiba didn't believe in anything that wasn't proven by science or research. And still, even if he never would admit it, and even if he dismissed the thought nearly immediately, he couldn't completely shake of that feeling that he had when he woke up this morning, that made his stomach lurch when he washed his face, and that still lingered there when he went downsairs to prepare breakfast and make some coffee. It was nothing he could really grasp, just a dull uneasiness in his stomach that made him think for just a split second that today just wasn't going to be an ordinary one. But as mentioned, Seto was not the kind of person to get fooled by those irrational thoughts and he blamed it on his lack of sleep from working too hard and too much stress.

Seto interrupted his train of thoughts to shout upstairs to his brother.

"Mokuba, hurry up, or we'll be late." An incoherent shout from upstairs was all the answer that greeted Seto Kaiba. The heir of KaibaCorps sighted. When had his younger brother gotten so messy? He had to wake him a total of three times today until the fourteen year old had rolled out of his bed and grumpily followed him downstairs for breakfast. After he had shuffled down some cereals, and the outright refusal of him to start a conversation this early in the morning, Mokuba went upstairs again to get dressed and Seto hadn't seen him since.

Now it was nearly a quarter to nine and if his brother didn't show up in the next two minutes, they'd both have to explain to their teachers why they weren't on time.

Mokuba came bolting down the stairs right after the thought had passed his mind and Seto just gave him a half serious frown, before ruffling his hair in a playful manner.

"Hey, I spend ages to get them in a halfway presentable state!" Mokuba whined, trying to straighten his black locks, pouting at his brother.

Seto just huffed, and turned towards the door.

"Let's get into the car; you can style your hair there as well." Seto said, opening the door for his brother.

"You know, that wouldn't even be necessary if you hadn't ruffed it." Mokuba replied, trying his best to sound pissed, but didn't really succeed.

"Your hair would be in perfect state right now, if you hadn't spend nearly half an hour to wash and put some clothes on." Seto replied, his voice deceiving the fact that he was only mocking his younger brother.

They both climbed into the car and after Seto had started the engine and made his way out of the driveway, the brunette broke the silence. "I'm going to cook dinner today, is there something you'd like me to make? "

"Chocolate parfait," was the immediate response. Mokuba knew that this was Seto's way of apologizing for the hair incident. The black haired boy smiled at the predictability of Seto's actions and how he had learned to interpret them over the years.

"You know that that's not really dinner, don't you?" Seto smiled, cocking an eyebrow.

"Duh. Sure I know, but it is just damn delicious when you make it and you asked what I wanted." Mokuba answered, his voice only emphasizing the fact he was grinning from one ear to the other.

Seto sighted. "I'll see what I can do.", he said in defeat. Mokuba's grin grew even wider. "And watch your language."

:::

After they had pulled up at Domino High and gotten out of their car, Mokuba waved a quick goodbye.

"See you after school!" he announced before spurting of to the building where the Middle School student where educated. Seto locked the door of his black Mercedes. He could always ask a chauffeur to get him to school, but he didn't really see the point in that. Apart from the unnecissity of it, Seto also found it quite relaxing to be in control, like he did in most things. Or more precisely, in all. Bringing one hand up to massage his temple, he turned around, preparing himself for his first lesson.

:::

With a thud the blonde boy landed on the floor. There was silence for a few seconds, before a low groan made its way from the bundle of white blankets. Then a hand moved out from under the covers, placed itself on the bed and heaved the body attached to it from the floor.

Looking at the clock and realizing that it would have gone off in ten minutes anyway, Joey decided that getting up now was not a bad idea anyway. Even though he would have liked a less painful wake up call. Cursing under his breath, he made his way to the bathroom.

A/N: Liked it? Hated it? Didn't care for it at all? Next chapter will be Joey's day and the revelation of the actual plot. Kind of. ^^

...Review? :3 You'll get a cookie! I promise!


	2. What the Hell?

Heya!

This Update comes pretty soon, I'm not sure if I can promise that for the next one. ^^'

Next two or so weeks will be a little crowed, so I thought I'd post the next chapter now. Sorry if its short or seems a bit rushed, but I wanted to post this before tomorrow, so here you go!

Also, thanks to my reviewers! It means a lot to me that you took the to comment. :) Thanks everyone who put this on their Story Alert! ^^

Chapter Two: What the Hell?

Joey didn't mind getting up in the morning. Normally, that is. The fact it was Friday, and also that he had only had had four hours of sleep did make it a little hard to wake up.

He would have liked to sleep more, but there was one thing, or better, person, that had kept him awake and from that wish.

_Tristan, you're so gonna pay for this, _the blonde thought groggily, as he turned up the stove. The brunette had called him up at eleven pm the last evening and hadn't stopped talking for half of the night, mostly about Duke. You wouldn't know it, but Tristan could be quite a gossip, his favorite topic being his secret crush, and how he would never get him to notice his feelings.

Joey, as his friend had listened to everything, answered Tristan's questions and had given him advice, where he knew some.

When Tristan had finally said his goodbyes, Joey had looked at the clock to realize it was after three in the morning. He was only beginning to feel how much sleep he had missed just now.

Grudgingly, he turned his thoughts back to the omelet he was making at the moment, only to get a near heart attack when he noticed the smoke erupting from the frying pan in such intensity that it turned the kitchen into a smoker's lounge during break time in a non smoking company.

_Just effing amazing, _Joey thought, as he threw the now unrecognizable breakfast into the trash. _And it had smelled so good, too… _

_Well, then its cereals again. _Even if the thought wasn't very enthusiastic, Joey wouldn't get upset about something as trivial as breakfast. Or that was at least what he was trying to tell himself as he munched his bowl of Cheerios.

:::

"Joey? Are you in there?"

The blonde stirred and gave an incoherent grunt as a way of reply. Yuugi turned around, shrugging at his boyfriend, who was standing a few feet away.

Yes, Joey Wheeler had been gloomy when he had woken up, but as soon as he entered the building commonly known as Domino High even the little optimism that had been left seemed to drain from him, leaving the blonde with a headache the size of a Red Eyed Black Dragon and a mood of the same color.

So, when he had made his way to class, he immediately slumped in his seat and that was the cue to enter a Yuugi.

Yami, who had followed his boyfriend's vain attempts to get Joey to speak to him up for the last five minutes, decided it was time to solve the situation his way.

He pulled the younger tricolored teen from behind and, heaving him off the floor, left Joey under stark complaints from his lover, silenced quickly by a peck on the lips that made Yuugi blush a dark red.

"Yaaami," the younger boy whined, even though his disapproving tone was deceived a little by the way he turned and wrapped his arms around the older's neck.

"Just leave him be for a while, Friday's are never his days," Yami answered, bumping their foreheads together.

"Take a room!" Bakura interrupted the two boys, trying his best at looking serious.

"As if you're one to talk." Yami and Tristan, who had just entered the classroom, said in unison, to what Bakura only glared.

Meanwhile, Joey was experiencing the next attack of coaxing; only that Ryo had a whole different method to get him to speak.

"… are you sick? Did you receive some bad news? Did your goldfish… Joey, did Justin die? Oh God, that's so sad, we need to give him a proper funeral, should we ask Duke to get you-…"

"Ryo, please," Joey finally snapped, starting the people in his surroundings. "I'm just tired, okay?" Oh yes, Ryo was number one at annoying the crap out of you.

The white haired teen grinned at the blonde "I know," he simply stated, then turned, so he was facing Yuugi and Yami.

"He's awake now."

Ryo was also a pro when it came to manipulating, when he wanted to be, that is.

Joey just groaned.

:::

Only one lesson separated Joey from two days of doing nothing. Only. One. Frigging. Hour. So why did it try to become the longest hour ever known to humanity?

The longer Joey stared at the clock at the door, the slower time seemed to pass. One second, two seconds, three seconds…

_Just ring so we can go home, already!,_ the blonde thought desperately_._

"Okay class.", Mr. Orisaki said, his voice sounding as exhausted as he looked. "I know it's Friday and all of you probably already only think about the weekend, but please at least try to concentrate for a little while longer." The teacher really tried his best to keep up a friendly and optimistic tone, but the exasperation showed by the way he ran his hand through his hair or the sigh that escaped his lips when the noise level didn't change. "Okay, let's make a deal. I'm only going to tell you where you'll be doing your internships and then you can go home."

Suddenly everyone turned very, very, quiet.

_Oh god. The internships. _Joey shot up from his slumped position on his seat. How could he have forgotten about them?

Most of the students seemed to think the same, if their dumbfounded expressions served as any indication.

"This is very important, guys. The company you will work at will give me their judgment of your performance and this will make up half of this year's final grade in Business Studies." Mr. Orisaki explained. "So try to behave," he added, giving Bakura and Yami a look, while the two boys tried to look as innocently as possible.

"I'm going to give out the folders of the companies now, these include all the information you'll need, working hours, job definition, judging criteria etc. Don't lose them; they'll help you a lot during next month."

Mr. Orisaki started to give each student his folder, some of them looking pretty pleased by while others didn't. Bakura was the first to get his; everyone looked at him expectantly as he read the logo on the front.

"Come on, don't keep us in suspense…!" Ryo complained, trying to sneak a glance at the paper without much success.

"Hot Topic." Bakura grinned, his voice sounding a little huskier than normal. He showed the envelope around, seeming to be very happy with his newly achived job.

"Well, if that isn't sexy," Yami said, looking at Ryo for approval.

Before Ryo could respond, he was handed his folder.

"Ry, what did you get?" Yuugi asked impatiently, as soon as the white haired teen had received his folder.

"Pizza Planet," Ryo answered, smiling. "Might be fun. What about you?"

"Yami and I are going to work at the Game Shop. Won't be very hard to get a good grade this year," Yuugi grinned broadly.

The only ones left from their group now were Tristan and Joey. When the former got his envelope, he looked at it and immediately all color seemed to drain from his body.

"Tristan? What's wrong?" Ryou asked tentatively, only to be handed the folder by the brunette in silence. The white haired boy looked at the logo, before Bakura snatched it from him. While Ryo looked at Tristan sympathetically, Bakura burst into a fit of laughter.

"Bakura!", Ryo shot a glare at the former spirit.

Joey, who didn't get all the fuss that was made, tried to solve his confusion by just asking.

"What is it? Where do you have to go? Is it that bad?"

"Oh no, it's not bad at all." Bakura managed through chuckles "It will be a lot of fun for us!"

Tristan didn't answer.

"This is priceless!", Bakura added, giving the folder to Joey.

'_Black Clown'_ it said in big letters. As in '_owned by Duke Devlin, also known as Tristan's long time crush'_.

Mr. Orisaki choose that moment to speak up again. "Okay, class. You're all excused. I hope you have a great month!"

Most of the students left the class immediately, and, after some encouragement by his friends, Tristan also got up from his seat, even though he still looked a little out of it.

"What company did you get, Joey?" , Yuugi asked, to change the subject.

The blonde realized only then that he hadn't gotten any envelope. Confused he looked at the teacher's desk, where Mr. Orisaki was currently gathering up all his things.

"Uhm, I'll have to check that out right now. See you later, okay? And try to cheer Tris up a little." Joey, gave Yami and Bakura a look that said '_don't go to hard on him, he's suffering enough already._'

"We will. See ya!", Yuugi answered, following after the group of friends.

Joey turned around and walked up to the desk. turned towards the blonde, confused for a second, then he seemed to remember something.

"Mr. Orisaki, you didn't give…-"

"Ah, yes, Joey, I wanted to talk to you. You should have worked at CardGamesIternational, but they called it off at last minutes, something about too many interns at the moment, so we had to reschedule a little." looked at him nervously, and Joey had a bad feeling about the whole situation all of a sudden.

"But the company said they could give you an internship as personal assistant in the firm they are working for, you would get paid a third more."

Now Joey was really confused. This didn't sound bad at all, so why did his teacher give him that look, as if he was going to tell him his pet had just died?

"Uhm, so when do I start?", he tried to break the awkward silence that had formed.

"It says all that in this folder. "

Joey took the offered booklet and turned it around so he could read the company's logo. When he did, he wished he hadn't.

A/N: So, here's chapter two for you! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for chapter three! Definite plot revelation there, sorry, but it didn't fit here, so I'll put it in the next chapter. ^^


	3. Unraveling Revelations

Hey, guys! I liked to write this chapter. I know the characters' personalities are a little mushy at the moment, I'm trying to work that out right now, I hope you don't mind too much. ^^'

Also, even though I kind of know where I want to go with this story, I'm always open for suggestions. So, if you have ideas or something, no need to be shy! ^^

Thank you again for the review. It makes me really happy to see them pop up in my inbox! :D

Okay, without much further ado, I present:

Chapter Three: Unraveling revelations

"They're sending you to KaibaCorps?" Yuugi gave the blonde a look of utter disbelief.

Joey had been in utter shock after he had gotten his folder and after all attempts to get Mr. Orisaki to get him into another company instead, he had gone home and, stocking himself up with ice cream, the remote and his Ipod, had crawled under the covers of his bed and not gotten up until three hours later, when the telephone had rung. He had contemplated to just let it ring, but in the end decided it was best to answer and face reality. Yuugi had noticed something was off immediately, and called together the whole group (excluding Tristan, who was still not able to speak in complete sentences , and was left at his family's house to be taken care of). Right now they were sitting in Joey's living room. While the blonde, Yuugi and Yami occupied the bed, Joey still huddled into his blankets, Bakura and Ryo sat across from him on the couch. For the last thirty minutes Yuugi had tried his best to get the whole story from Joey, and when he found out, tried his best to comfort his friend.

Yami, on the other hand, just smiled at him in that 'I'd so hate to be you right now' kind of way.

Ryo reached across the couch to empathetically pat the blonde's shoulder: "It might not be that bad, you might not even have to work for Kaiba. There're lots of people that need an assistant in a company as big as KaibaCorps," he tried to cheer Joey up.

"And you're earning a load of money." Yami added. The blonde tried to smile, but didn't really succeed in doing though, his attempt looking more like a grimace than anything else. It was really nice, that his friends cared about him that much, but in the end no argument could change the fact that he had to spend the next month in the company of his former arch enemy. Seto Kaiba and he had formed a silent agreement to keep their fights at bay, and, instead of throwing sarcastic comments at each other at every opportunity, opted to plainly ignore the other most of the time.

But, now that he would be forced to see, talk and worst of all _obey Kaiba's orders_, Joey was not sure if he would be able to keep that agreement.

"I'm not going, " he declared to his friends. "There's no chance Kaiba's gonna judge me positively, so why should I even bother to go there?" Maybe he could switch Business with another subject? He threw the thought away nearly immediately, the semester had started three month ago, no chance of changing now.

"Come one, Joey," Yuugi responded to his decision. "At least try it. Kaiba can be arrogant and patronizing, we all know that, but he's changed a lot since our first encounter with him, you know that ever person deserves a second chance."

"I know," Joey sighted_. But I still don't have to like it_, he added silently.

:::

There were not many things that could confuse Seto Kaiba. But there was one thing that kept bugging the KaibaCorp heir, even after he had picked up Mokuba and driven him home to their mansion. The person responsible for his pondering was no other than one Joseph Wheeler. Normally, both of them tried to not pay any attention to the other when they were in the same room. But today, right after the last lesson had ended, and Seto had picked up all his things from his locker, Joey had rushed past him, an angry glare visible on his face and when he had looked in his direction, the blonde had stopped in his tracks, his expression changing from irritated to surprised to something that Seto would describe as fear, if he didn't know better, and sped off the opposite way. Apart from Wheeler's strange behavior, what Seto was really annoyed by was that he couldn't stop contemplating all of this. It was not unusual for the blonde to behave unusually, even though the pattern of behavior he had formed with him had been never broken before, he had to it. Something was wrong here, and he just couldn't wrap his finger around it. And Seto was not happy at all.

His cell phone ringing interrupted his thoughts and he was even a little thankful for something that would keep his mind from the whole incident.

"KaibaCorps, Seto Kaiba speaking. " he answered in his business voice.

"Hello Mr. Kaiba," his manager's voice sounded hesitant, uneasy.

"Is there a problem?", Kaiba had learned to read the signs and respond to them. He braced himself for some bad news.

There was silence on the other end before the voice gave his answer. "It's about the survey you asked for."

Survey? Seto needed a second to remember. Right, he had wanted to research the image his company was giving the public.

When his manager didn't speak any further, Seto asked: "Well?"

"The companies image is under the three best images when speaking with other companies, employees and the government." There was a short pause again, and Seto thought about clearing his throat, just for the effect, but his manager continued before he could make his decision. "When it comes to the public, though… we didn't do so well."

Seto contemplated this for a moment. He had expected this, what he was interested in now, was how the management planned to change this public image.

The person on the other end continued his explanation. "As a way to improve this image, it would be best if we supported some social projects and we scheduled you for the opening of a youth centre next week." Seto expressed his approval. He donated large sums to those projects anyway, he normally just didn't make a lot of fuss about it, but if his company would benefit from it, then he was more than willing to let the public know.

"…and we got you an intern."

_This was not a problem, either. I'll just let the boy or girl organize some files or something, _Seto thought, already feeling a little bored by the whole conversation.

"His name is Joseph Wheeler and he'll start working here on Monday."

Upstairs Mokuba, who had listened to the whole conversation through the other line, couldn't help but burst into fits of laughter. He knew he'd pay for spying later, but right now he just couldn't care less.

:::

Next chapter: First day of Joey's torture! Is it bad that I'm really looking forward to writing this?

Reviewers are getting a super special awesome chocolate muffin with cream and an cherry on top. Stay tuned, guys. ^^


	4. Hell is not even close

Here you go!

Great thanks to my beta reader Yugi16dm! Thank you again and again! :3

On with the show!

Chapter 4: Hell is not even close

Joey stormed down the hallway, a not-happy-at-all expression plastered on his face. He glanced at his watch, groaning at the glowing numbers it showed. When he had gotten to Kaiba Corp around thirty minutes ago, the only thing he had been worried about had been how he would cope with Seto Kaiba, aka Mr. Arrogance, for more than two minutes. At the moment, though, he worried more about finding the company's heir in the first place.

Once he'd passed the revolving doors of the entrance hall at five to nine, he had looked for the information desk immediately, only to discover that it was not occupied. He had wanted to turn away and find someone else to ask, but it was then that a girl, looking about twenty-two, opened the door to the booth and sat down on the chair in front of the computer, starting to type away on the keyboard.

"Excuse me," Joey began. "Could you tell… me…?" The girl didn't even flinch. Joey knitted one eyebrow, trying again a little louder. This time, the girl turned her head, raising one index finger.

One minute.

Even though he was already late, he waited patiently as one minute dragged on into becoming two, then three. After a good five minutes, he approached the desk for the third time, hoping the receptionist would notice him. She didn't.

"Sorry, I really don't want to bother, but—"

"Excuse me," the reception said, smiling sweetly at the blond before rushing out of the office. "I'll be right back!"

Joey just stood there for a moment, flabbergasted, before he groaned, turned, and tried to get the information he needed elsewhere.

It didn't take him long to find the elevator, and since he was pretty sure Kaiba's office would be somewhere high up, (that was where all the important people had their workplaces, wasn't it?) he pressed the button beside the door, and waited. It took a little while, but soon the doors opened and Joey walked in, turning to choose the floor he wanted to get out. After some thought (and one or two annoyed glares from the other passengers), Joey finally decided it couldn't hurt to choose the highest one, since it seemed the most reasonable and it was more logical than selecting just a random number.

What Joey hadn't considered, though, was the fact that it also took the most time to get up that high, and when the elevator came to a halt nearly every second floor, he began to get nervous. His watch read 9:15, showing he was already fifteen minutes late and Joey could just picture the look of satisfaction and confirmation on Kaiba's face at his delay.

When the elevator had finally stopped at the second to last floor and the only passenger that had been in the compartment apart from Joey walked out, the blonde was beginning to feel a little calmer again.

This changed immediately when the elevator didn't go up to the next floor, but instead began traveling down again, halting five levels further down. Joey gave the keypad an angry glance, then, as soon as the doors slid open, stormed out, turned a corner, and nearly ran up the staircase until he found himself at a dead end. He opened the door, suppressing the urge to slam it shut, charging down the corridor.

He came to a halt at the door at the end of the passage, a little unsure of what he should do now. The easiest way would be to just go in, but if Joey were to be honest, he felt a little nervous. Kaiba and he had never been very friendly to each other, and the agreement of ignorance toward the other one's presence had only been made so it wouldn't cause too much tension when Yuugi and the others were around. Now that they would have to spend all day alone, with no one keeping them from arguing, he was pretty sure that it would be a very exhausting day. He could just picture the brunet's arrogant expression when he gave him a lecture about being late.

Maybe he should just wait a little while longer. He was late, anyway, so could five more minutes hurt?

On the other hand, he doubted that those five minutes would be of great help anyway. Deep down he knew he just wanted to put off the confrontation with Kaiba as long as possible. Sighing, he made another step towards the door, and knocked.

While he waited for a reaction, he read the sign on the right of the door_. '_Seto Kaiba: CEO and head of management', it said. _Even his title sounds arrogant_, Joey thought, rolling his eyes. The door opened that instant, revealing said CEO, wearing a white shirt and dark blue trousers, hair perfectly combed, looking as it could be bothered by neither rain, wind or hurricane. In other words: he looked like he always did and his expression was not any different.

"Wheeler," he said.

"Kaiba," the blonde answered just as coldly.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither wanting to be the first one to look away.

"You're late," Kaiba finally broke the silence, turning away from the blond. He made his way to his desk, his laptop sitting silently on it, and sat down to (Joey assumed) continue his work, pointedly ignoring the blond.

Said blond closed the door, and looked around the room. The floor was a really soft-looking black carpet. There was a white couch with two armchairs in one corner to Joey's right, and on his left some kind of palm tree was giving off a friendly atmosphere (if only just a little). The walls were covered with what seemed like a hundred different certificates, most likely for the company's, or its CEO's, achievements. There was also a second desk that was slightly angled at the right side of the one Kaiba was sitting at. Joey didn't pay too much attention to all of this, though, because his eyes got transfixed on something completely different. At the far end of the room and right behind the desk Kaiba was working at, was a breathtaking view of the whole city through the wall-size glass window.

Without really realizing, Joey walked towards it, gazing down at the skyline that seemed surreal right now. He could even see Domino High from here and was that his flat, there? Oh, and the Card Shop and Black Clown, just over there! How Tristan was doing right now, Joey wondered.

He turned his head in the CEO's direction only to find the brunet looking at him with a blank expression (was there amusement in there?) on his face. When he noticed Joey was eyeing him, the expression changed to an irritated one.

"Don't touch the glass, it'll get smudgy."

"I'm not stupid."

"Aren't you here to work, anyway?" Kaiba changed the subject. "I'm not going to pay you for staring out of the window the whole day."

"I would have done that if you had given me something to do," Joey countered, his voice becoming more agitated with each word.

"I put all your chores on your desk. Finish them and you can go again, "his tone suggested that it would be better for both of them if he finished those tasks as soon as possible. Having no intention to spend more time with Kaiba than was completely necessary, Joey sat down, studying the paper with the list of things he was assigned.

All of the points were pretty easy to do, organizing files, writing some emails… maybe this was not going to be so bad after all.

"Are you just going to read it, or are you actually planning on doing something useful for once?" Kaiba asked from the side.

Or maybe not.

A/N: So, what did you think of Seto's and Joey's first encounter?

For the next chapter, what would you like to read the most: Bakura's day, Ryou's day or Tristan's day?

Also, should next chapter be in Seto's perspective again?

Take care everyone; reviews are, like always, very much appreciated! :DD


	5. Encounters and other Problems

Okaaaaaay…. First of all, I know that this update took longer than the first ones, and I'm really sorry for that. School's being a bitch lately. _

Great thanks to Yugi16dm for beta-reading!

I'm also trying to sort out the plotline in this story. But I hope that I'll have it all planned out soon and then updates might be coming in more regular intervals. ^^

Okies, on with the show!

Chapter 5: Encounters and other problems

Ryo's first day had ended quite well.

Ryo's, second day, however, had not gone as well and it didn't take long until Ryo looked a mess. Three hours of nearly non-stop running around in the kitchen, handling the kneading machine and a little accident with the flour and the dough hook had left the boy covered in all kinds of pizza ingredients and feeling like an idiot.

He had tried to see the positive in the situation, though. His instructor was a really nice woman and she had not even scolded him for the incident, but just smiled and reassured him that it was not a problem because he was still learning. She had moved him to the cash desk, anyway—probably to prevent him from causing another farina explosion.

What kept him in a good mood, though, was the fact that Bakura's lunch break had started three minutes ago and he had promised to come to the Pizza Planet and visit him. Since their working places were both situated in the local mall, he should arrive any moment.

Ryo smoothed down his hair. He tried to look even halfway presentable.

When he heard a hushed call of his name, he turned around just in time to see a rather pale looking Tristan flying at him, pushing him through the backdoor and inside the kitchen.

"Tristan, wha—?"

"Shhhh…", the brunet put one hand over Ryo's mouth, keeping him from any further sounds. Ryo looked up him bewildered, but when he followed Tristan's gaze, he immediately had his answer.

There, waiting at the counter, stood none other than Duke—his hair pulled back in a ponytail as always—looking around the store with disinterest.

Tristan slowly removed his hand from Ryo's mouth, but put one finger in front of his lips to emphasize his wish for the white-haired to be quiet.

When Ryo spoke, he tried to keep his voice as low as possible.

"Why is Duke standing in this Pizza Planet and why did he show up at the same time as you?"

Tristan gave him a desperate look. "I really don't know!", he whined. "We were just working at the Black Clown and when he suddenly announced he wanted to grab something to eat…I…", he looked up at Ryo, this time, his expression looked nearly apologetic.

Ryo's eyes narrowed. "Tris… what did you do?" he asked hesitantly.

The brunet seemed to weigh his words, before he answered. "."

"You what?"

"I don't know what I was thinking, either!" Tristan looked like he was about to cry. "It was out before I could help it. And now Duke kinda thinks I'm here to get us an extra big, crust filled pepperoni cheese pizza for free."

He managed an apologetic smile. "I'm really sorry, Ry-… oh crap."

The last part was directed at the situation that was unfolding in the front of the shop at the moment.

Apparently, Bakura had finally showed up and was talking to Duke at the moment, a questioning look on his face.

"…Discount? What discount?" the white haired was just saying.

Tristan gave Ryo a pleading look, that clearly said "Help me and I will do anything you ask me to," The white haired boy sighed in defeat.

In the front, Bakura was making the situation worse with every second.

"I didn't get any discount when I bought something yesterday and I'm his boyfriend, so you'd expect me to get all the benefits. Anyway, Ryo only worked here for one day, so I don't think that-…" Bakura was just sayng, but got interrupted by an uneasily-laughing Ryo, who turned up and interrupted his lover with a tight hug from the side.

"Hahaha… Baks, don't scare our customers away like that, just because you want all the food for yourself!", he gave him a light punch and turned so that only the addressed boy could see his face, which showed a warning look. He then turned back to Duke, flashing him a smile.

"Hi, I'm Ryo", he extended one arm.

The black haired boy took the offered hand, mumbling a "hey". He seemed to be pretty nonchalant to all the awkwardness in the room.

Ryo took hold of Tristan's arm, half-dragging him to the other boy's side. "Why don't you and Duke sit down over there…", Ryo pointed at a table in one corner of the shop "…and I'll be right back with your pepperoni pizza."

When they turned and walked off to the desk, Tristan turned around, mouthing a "thank you" at Ryo.

"I'll explain to you later," Ryo said to Bakura, who was giving him a bewildered look at the moment.

"I'd say it looks like Tristan is just quite desperate to get into Duke's pants." The taller boy smiled.

The comment brought a smile to Ryo's mouth as well. He was still feeling a headache coming on and he brought one hand up to massage his temples.

"Exhausting day?", Bakura asked, pulling him in a loose hug, kissing the spot behind Ryo's ear.

The other let out a soft sigh, mumbling an affirmative into the other's neck.

"You know that you look damn sexy with all that flour covering you, don't you?" Bakura smirked.

Ryo pulled back, a shocked expression on his face. He recovered pretty soon, though, and went off with a huff, deceived by the teasing look over his shoulder when he made his way to the kitchen.

Bakura couldn't wait until they finished work today.

:::

If Joey had thought the first day had been bad, Tuesday proved to be even worse. There didn't seem to pass a minute without Kaiba throwing a sarcastic comment in his direction. At first he had tried to shake it off as exaggeration; maybe he was just too sensitive when it came to the brunet. But after one comment—when Kaiba had told him he was excused for the day because he would have to go over everything Joey had done and probably rewrite nearly all of it anyway—that there was not much point in him sticking around.

Joey had gotten pretty upset, not only because of the words, but more because of the tone with which Kaiba seemed to address him all of the time. This arrogant, I'm-so-much-better-than-you tone had been the last straw and he had reacted more violently than he should have. He had thrown a fit about Kaiba being a big-headed, egoistic narcissist and then stormed out of the office.

When he had arrived home and thought about the whole situation he had realized that he had brought himself to a dead end, probably just ruined the only chance of passing this year's class and acted a complete fool in front of Kaiba. Not that he cared about the latter.

Right now he was standing in front of Kaiba's office and tried not to think about the consequences that might occur once he had knocked on the door. During the night he had come to the conclusion that the only sensitive thing to do in his situation right now would be to ask Kaiba to move him to another company. It seemed to be the most reasonable option and Joey was positive that the brunet would feel the same. If he wasn't such a sadistic prick, that is. Because even if it seemed the most logical option, Joey somehow doubted that Kaiba would let the opportunity to humiliate him a little more just slip through his fingers.

There was shuffling at the other side of the wooden surface, and Joey braced himself for whatever was to come when the door opened slowly.

"Let's call a truce."

He definitely hadn't been expecting that.

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! I know this chapter consisted mostly of everyone else except for the two main characters, but there will be more of Joey and Seto in the next chapter. Promise.

I'll try my best to be quicker with the next update, but I can't guarantee anything, because I'm really busy at the moment and there are also a few plot details that I have to work out and I don't want to post chapters that don't seem to be well thought through. ^^

Review! It makes my day to see them in my inbox! :33 I'd really like to know what you want to see in this story, suggestions are very welcome. ^_^ kthnxbye


	6. Confession?

HEYA!

How's it going? It's been a little quieter this week, so I was able to complete this chapter earlier than I had expected. It will be a little busier in the future, so I can't promise that the next chapter be uploaded as quickly.

Please tell me if you want me to include anything in the next chapters. I write this story for you as well, so it's only fair to get your opinions in it as well.

Hope you enjoy!

Beta: Yugi16dm (THANK YOU!)

Chapter 6: Confession?

"Let's call a truce."

The sentence hung in the air, like the silence that stretched between the two boys standing across from each other. As one pause dragged into another pause and this one blended with yet another one, the older of the two seemed to get a little annoyed.

But Joey, as bad as he wanted to, couldn't find the words to answer. First of all, because it was effing Seto Kaiba standing in front of him. Under no circumstances had the blond ever seen him succumb, if that was really what Kaiba intended to do with his proposition. Which led Joey to his second theory: this was some kind of trick, in which case he should probably turn around, make a run for the stairs and hope that Kaiba did not find out where he lived.

There was a huff that made Joey fall out of his brooding. He looked at Kaiba who was still standing in the door, his arms now crossed across his chest, making a face as if he would be all too happy to deal with anything but him right now. Which was probably exactly the case.

"Wheeler, I won't stand here all day for your answer, so make a quick decision or I'm going to make it for you." This prospect seemed rather appealing to the brunet. Joey noticed the dimple that appeared on one side of Kaiba's face and he had to think of the talk Bakura and he had had last evening, after the 'incident caused by sexual tension between Kaiba and himself', or that's at least how the former spirit had put it. Even though Joey had vehemently denied it then, he couldn't deny the fact that he was somehow drawn to the little indentation now, even words like adorable or enchanting crossing his mind.

He was yet again drawn from further thinking, when Kaiba cleared his throat. Joey wasn't quite sure if this was because he had still not answered the brunet or because he had been staring quite obviously.

"Well?" Seto demanded, the smirk still present on his face.

_Okay_, Joey thought, _let's look at the situation logically_. There were only two options. Deal or no deal. If he did not agree it would be bad either way. If he agreed and this was a trick, he knew it would be bad as well, but if Kaiba was genuine with his suggestion, then this could actually lead to an improvement in their relationship. Not that Joey was keen on that. No, not even the slightest…

"Wheeler?" Seto demanded once again, the annoyance still clear in his voice, although there was something else in there as well. "What are you worried about? This should only be to your advantage, anyway," he continued, partially echoing Joey's thoughts.

Even though the blond was not completely convinced, he also couldn't argue with what Kaiba said.

"Agreed," Joey said finally, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Maybe he was a little relieved that the other had made this proposal. He was still suspicious about the whole thing though. Nevertheless, he extended his right hand. If they were going to make a deal, then they should do it correctly.

Kaiba seemed to be a little taken aback, but he caught himself pretty soon, taking the proffered hand, shaking it.

Joey had expected Kaiba's hand to be cold. Maybe because of his personality, but when their hands met, Joey was quite surprised by the warmth of it.

The handshake only lasted for a second though and when Kaiba released Joey's palm the blond tried very hard to convince himself that he was not disappointed from the loss of contact.

Those feelings confused him a lot. Why was he reacting this way? Fifteen minutes ago he would have given everything to be as far away from the other boy as possible, so why was he becoming so sensible to Kaiba all of a sudden?

He put the blame on Bakura and his philosophical talk. Why had he even started the whole conversation in the first place? He had actually hoped for some advice from Ryo's part, but hadn't considered that the two were nearly inseparable and Bakura had a bad habit of butting in as often, and in the most inappropriate moments possible. He was not sure if he was even serious with his suggestions, they were mostly completely bogus to Joey, but he would give Bakura credit for nearly everything.

"Are you okay, Wheeler?"

For the third time that day, Joey's thinking was interrupted by Kaiba, who was eyeing him suspiciously. Joey felt really stupid by now, but tried to keep as much dignity as possible.

"Sorry, I was just spacing out", he answered lamely. Well, so much about dignity.

Kaiba nodded slowly, the suspicion still visible on his face. "If you're not feeling well," the brunet began, "I can ask for some medicine, if you need any. Just give me a call before something unpleasant happens."

Joey tried to look past the sarcastic comment, concentrating more on the slight trace of worry he had heard in the other's voice.

"Will do…" the blond said, a small smile making its way to his face. "…thank you." he added.

"Hn.", the other one gave as response, giving him one quick look, before he turned and made his way to his desk, leaving Joey a little self-conscious.

He would have to do some bad things to Bakura, the blond decided.

:::

By the time Kaiba's phone had rung for the twenty-seventh time that day, Joey was so used to it that he didn't even listen to Kaiba answering it anymore.

When the brunet let out an annoyed groan a few moments later though, the blond turned his head, trying to get what the conversation was about.

"And why am I the last one to hear about this?" Kaiba was just saying into his phone, seemingly pissed off. Joey was happy about the agreement they had reached in the morning, because he definitely never wanted this tone to be directed at him. Ever. It sent shivers down his spine. He was genuinely sorry for the person on the other end of the phone.

"…not happy about this, but we can't change it now anyway, can we?" the brunet continued, irritation all over the place. He brought his free hand up to massage his temples, silently contemplating whatever the person he was speaking with was saying right now.

"We will have to talk about this later" the heir of Kaiba Corp ended the call, his face in deep thought now, still angry, but somehow composed at the same time. He looked at his watch, then back up, seemingly calculating something. When he turned his head, Joey was not fast enough to look away in time.

And again he was caught staring. Well, crap.

Their eyes locked and Joey was not sure if he should hide under his table or if he was better off asking what was wrong. He decided for the latter, mostly because he was curious, but also because he thought that he, as Kaiba's personal assistant, should at least try to help him with his problems at work.

"Something wrong?" he asked, regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth. It was kind of pointless to ask him that, since it was pretty obvious there had occurred a problem. Kaiba must think he was a complete idiot right now, looking at him all the time, without even listening. The blond quickly tried to rephrase his question.

"Well, what I mean, I didn't want to sound-…"

"Mind your own business", he brunet snapped. There was a moment of complete silence, before Kaiba let himself fall into his chair, heaving a deep sigh. When he looked at Joey again his expression had softened. Then he said something that made Joey think he had developed some hearing problems in the last few seconds.

"I did not mean it like that. The harsh tone was not very appropriate."

Maybe Joey was thinking too much about the statement, but had Kaiba actually apologized to him just now? He didn't remember hearing Kaiba apologize to anyone before, let alone him.

"It's okay. Your job seems to be very stressing so I understand."

There was a silence again, but this time it could even be called comfortable. When Kaiba spoke again, his tone seemed really calm, but Joey could still tell the other was really upset about the whole scenario.

"Some business partners have canceled their meeting with us, which had been scheduled for tomorrow. They want me to meet them today instead." Kaiba paused.

Joey was a little confused. He was not really seeing the problem, he had to admit. He looked up and noticed the way Kaiba seemed to fidget for words. Something here seemed to be really nagging on the brunet's nerves.

"Today's Mokuba's birthday." Kaiba crossed his arms across his chest, staring at the keyboard in front of him.

Oh. So that was the problem. He had promised his little brother to spend the day with him and now he couldn't keep his promise. Joey thought about Serenity's last birthday, where he had not been able to visit her as well. He had felt really guilty afterwards, so he knew how Kaiba felt right now.

"Is there no way of postponing the meeting?" Joey asked. If they had called of the meeting, then those business partners should actually be the ones that should adapt to Kaiba's schedule, not the other way around.

The brunet shook his head. "They are leaving in the evening and the meeting is really important. It would not be wise to make it more complicated. Anyway, I'll just have to get a chauffeur to pick Mokuba up from school and dinner is just going to be a little late…" he seemed to be talking more to himself than to Joey now, falling into silence once again after he had finished the sentence.

Joey was feeling some connection between Kaiba and himself. He found himself looking differently at Kaiba from one moment to the next. Kaiba seemed to care so much about his little brother, the blond had caught glimpses of that over the last year and it was something he knew all too well himself. He found himself feeling a sudden rush of affection towards the boy in front of him.

"I'll do it."

Joey was as surprised to have said the words as Kaiba seemed to be when he heard them.

"You what?" the brunet asked, stunned.

"Uhm, well… you need someone to get Mokuba from school and to cook dinner for him, so I'll do it. I mean, I can cook, somehow at least and I know where his school is ..." Joey rambled until he finally reached a dead end. He still couldn't quite interpret the expression on the other boy's face.

"I thought you and Mokuba didn't get along?" he finally responded.

"We both worked in a coffee shop over the holidays last year. In the end, it was even fun." Joey had to smile. Firstly, because he thought back at that time (it had been a lot of fun, actually) and secondly, because the situation here seemed, now that he thought about it, strangely similar.

Kaiba nodded once, seemingly remembering his younger brother's job. "It would make things a lot easier if you were to do that", he finally said, his voice sounding as if he was calculating each word.

"Mokuba's school day ends in half an hour, so you need to hurry to pick him up. The instructions for the dinner are pinned to the kitchen cupboard." Kaiba stood, looking a little uneasy, but his voice was determined. Joey doubted that he had to do things like that very often. He felt somehow proud that Kaiba did actually seem to trust him a little, even though he knew that the older boy was kind of desperate at this point.

Joey got up as well, nodding to Kaiba's information, trying to memorize everything.

When they both reached the door, there was another pause where no one really knew what to say.

"I guess it's a good thing we decided to work together, it saved me a lot of work," Seto finally said.

Even though he knew in the back of his mind that this comment should be answered with some witty comeback, he didn't know how to form one at this point. Instead he said the following.

"That's what I'm here for, isn't it?"

Kaiba seemed a little surprised, but quickly composed himself. "I guess." The brunet looked as if he was going to say something else, but kept silent.

"Okay then, I'll see you in a few hours," Joey said, feeling a little uncomfortable all of a sudden. The other boy nodded. And there it was again, that touch of a dimpled smile.

Without another word the blond walked out, a strange feeling in his stomach. Maybe he really was getting sick or Bakura had not been completely wrong with his assumption after all.

:::

_Keep cool_, Joey told himself. _There could be a logical explanation for all of this_. Just because he was feeling uneasy around Kaiba and his stomach seemed to turn whenever their eyes met, it didn't have to mean anything. They had gone from arguing 24/7 to what could even be called a normal relationship, so it was only understandable for the blonde to be a little clueless on how to react around the brunet now. He was just now used to have a normal conversation with the other boy. That was all.

Joey groaned and hit the gas pedal a little too violently when he sped off after the traffic light he had been standing at turned green.

Who was he even trying to kid. He was somehow inexplicably, and for no logical reason, becoming attracted to one Seto Kaiba.

Joey had known he was gay for some time now. At first he had tried to deny everything, but after a rather embarrassing incident, when he had walked in on Yuugi and Yami at the worst possible moment, he had been pretty convinced of his sexuality. It was easier for him after that, mostly because his friends told him that they had known him to play for the other team for a while and because most of them were homosexual as well. He had never had much experience, though. He had kissed some girls over the years, but that had never really evoked too much in him. Kissing boys was another story whatsoever. Yuugi and he had kissed once, during a game of spin the bottle. It had felt quite nice, but they were best friends, so it had also been pretty awkward.

Now that he was experiencing those feelings for Kaiba, he was getting more frustrated by every second. Not only because he knew that the brunet could probably not reciprocate those feelings, but also because Joey was obliged to work near him for the next two weeks and he was not too keen on that. The words 'sexual tension' came to mind again.

He turned a corner, Mokuba's school coming into focus. He could make out the black haired boy standing around thirty feet away, his gaze focused on the green haired boy he was talking to at the moment. When Joey's car parked a little way off, Mokuba waved to the blond before he turned his attention back at the boy.

Joey got out of the car. He wasn't very happy on interrupting the conversation, but he had to. When he turned up right beside the two boys, Mokuba cocked his head to one side, one eyebrow raised, not really angry, but just confused.

"Hey."

"Hey, " Mokuba retorted. The green haired boy kept quiet, but smiled at Joey.

"Happy birthday, " Joey continued, "Your brother has some work he needs to tend to, so I'm getting you home today. He'll be home as soon as possible. He was really upset that he couldn't come here himself," he quickly added when he saw a tad of disappointment crossing Mokuba's features. The black haired boy seemed to accept the situation though, even if he didn't seem too happy about it. He looked at the boy beside him, then back at Joey, a look crossing his face that made it quite clear that he had not finished his talk yet and didn't want the blond to overhear it.

"Uhm…I'll just wait in the car." Joey turned and walked off. Well, that hadn't been awkward, Joey thought sarcastically.

He sat down in his car again, turning on the radio, switching channels until he finally decided on some alternative rock song. When he glanced at the two boys again, he was shocked at what he saw. It looked like they had ended their conversation and Mokuba was just turning into his direction. He made one step, but was prevented from any further action when the green haired boy caught Mokuba's wrist, tugging the boy back and swinging him around before he caught the surprised boy, planting a kiss at the other one's lips. Mokuba seemed completely paralyzed for a moment, before his hands clawed into the other boy's shirt's fabric, his eyes closing.

Joey looked away, thinking that this was a moment that was not meant to be seen by him.

When the black haired boy sat down in the passenger's seat a few moments later, Joey couldn't help the smirk he was throwing in the other boy's direction, who blushed a deep red before he glared at the blond.

"Don't you dare…" he threatened, blushing even more.

It was silent as Joey backed out of the parking space.

"You know, some people would kill to get a birthday present like this."

Mokuba groaned, burying his face under his hands, the nearly gone blush returning full force.

This is gonna be A LOT of fun, Joey thought happily.

A/N: Reviews make my day! They are the fuel that keeps me writing!

Oh, whoever can guess who that boy who kissed Mokuba is gets a cookie!


	7. An offer you can't refuse

A/N: Heya!

I know it's been a while. School stuff and lack of inspiration being the main problems here. I can't promise to update regularly really, because it depends a lot on the homework we get and my amount on learning for the driving license.

This chapter's hassn't been beta'd yet. If you glimpse a mistake or anything, tell me and I'll fix it.

I really hope you enjoy the chapter!

All the best,

much love!

Chapter 7: An offer you can't refuse

"His name's Noah." Mokuba finally said.

Both he and Joey were in the living room in Kaiba Mansion, the blond lying on the carpet while Mokuba sat cross-legged, his back leaning against the dark red couch.

"He seems like a nice boyfriend", Joey said, somewhat triumphant because he had spend the last hour trying to get anything out of Mokuba about the green-haired boy, but up until now with not so much as an annoyed look, exasperated sigh or a blush as a response. It seemed like the black-haired boy wanted to talk about it after all.

"He's not. …my boyfriend, I mean", he added hastily as he saw Joey who had thrown a shocked expression at the boy who had spoken, that changed now to one of surprise.

"You seemed pretty intimate in my opinion."

Mokuba sighed. "But that was the first time he ever kissed me! I didn't even know he was into boys until today." He banged his head against the armrest. "He moved here at the start of this term and we got along really well, but I wouldn't have ever thought that he liked me that way."

"What about you? Do you like him _that way_?", Joey asked, a certain brunet popping up in his head. He shook his head to dismiss the picture, grateful that Mokuba's eyes were closed and he didn't see the blush tinting his cheeks.

"I don't know. I mean, he is an awesome friend and he comforts me whenever I have a problem or I need advice," a small smile made its way to the black-haired's lips. "You know, it's so easy to be myself around him."

There was a short pause.

"He's also a really good kisser..."

…

How Joey and Mokuba had been able to turn the kitchen into a battlefield within the three and a half hours that had passed since Joey had picked the black-haired boy up from school, neither of them could explain.

By the look on Kaiba's face when he had opened the door to the room after he came home from work, he was too shocked to listen to an explanation, anyway. Joey watched nervously as Kaiba looked from one side, cupboards covered with dough, to the ceiling, something looking suspiciously like pancakes hanging halfway from it, to the other side, smoke evoking from the oven, then back, shortly pausing at the blond before his eyes finally settled on Mokuba. His expression had turned completely blank by that time, even though Joey was quite sure he had seen one of the brunet's eyes twitch.

Joey glanced to his right, where Mokuba stood rooted to the spot. He looked agitatedly at his brother, shuffling his feet nervously on the floor.

"What on earth happened here?," Kaiba finally said, his voice distant, like he was talking to himself, rather than the two teenagers in front of him.

When Mokuba didn't seem like he would answer anytime soon, Joey decided it was best if he responded.

"Mokuba and I baked a cake." He tried to muster his most convincing smile, but had the impression that Kaiba wasn't buying it. The blond's eyes glanced to the oven that still belched smoke. "…well, we tried to, that is…" The brunet followed his look slowly, as if in a trance. Great. Just great. Joey was just beginning to accept that he might be in some way infatuated with Kaiba and now he had ruined everything by ruining the kitchen of said brunet. The blond looked up hesitantly, awaiting some kind of outburst from Kaiba.

It never came to that, though. To Joey's utter surprise, the brunet just closed his eyes for a moment before walking past the kitchen counter and grabbing a towel that hung at one of the shelves' doors.

"I'm cleaning up here, so go upstairs and wash off all the baking ingredients," he simply stated, making a sideway glance to the mess that was Mokuba. "I'll try to get something delivered and when you are finished, we'll have, dinner." Kaiba walked to his brother, one hand ruffling the younger's hair, who on his part frowned, even if Joey could tell that he wasn't upset but really, really grateful.

When the black haired boy turned around, sprinting off, Kaiba and Joey were left behind, a silence stretching between them again.

Joey watched perplexed as Kaiba put stained bowls in the sink, wiped the dough from kitchen surfaces and placed cooking ingredients back in their shelves. As the brunet was just about to deposit a package of flour in the cupboard over the oven he caught Joey staring at him, cocked his head a little and asked in a neutral voice.

"Something wrong?"

Joey immediately straightened up. "Yes…- I mean no-… maybe...-", _why was he so nervous? _He let out an exasperated breath, "..Just… just surprised I guess…"

"About what?"

"I didn't think you'd be so calm," Joey looked at Kaiba intently, trying to make out some hidden anger or annoyance, but he couldn't. The brunet rather looked amused, right now.

"Well, maybe you should revise your low opinion of me." He said, giving him a funny look that made heat rush to Joey's face.

"Yeah, I should." He said slowly, because really, it was true. Joey had thought of Kaiba as nothing more than an arrogant egoist a few days ago and he was becoming more and more aware of the fact that he hadn't judged quite rightly.

Kaiba did look taken aback by Joey's words, but caught himself pretty quickly. He gave him another look which expression the blond couldn't really place, before walking around the table directly towards Joey. He stopped in front of the blond, a hand reaching to his face and Joey had to repress the urge to lean into the hand. Kaiba's face was right before him and the blond was struck by the idea of Kaiba leaning down and kissing him, but a moment later the brunet leaned back, something doughy between his thumb and middle finger. Joey let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You had something in your hair," Kaiba asked as if that wasn't obvious. His voice somewhat sounded lower than usual. Joey felt hot all of a sudden, although he was sure that the temperature hadn't risen and he hoped the flour covering his face would hide the blush creeping across his skin.

"You should wash as well, you look…," Kaiba seemed to choose the word carefully. "Well, terrible."

Joey felt a little offended until he saw the small smile that had formed on the brunets face. His hand was still only centimeters from Joey's head and it took all of the blond's willpower to not lean into it. The brunet's eyes had darkened somewhat and Joey noticed for the first time that they were not completely blue, but also nearly golden on the edges. He could feel the brunet's breath on his face, and the warmth radiating from his body. His heart was speeding up its beating and Joey was sure that Kaiba would notice it. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to press his hand to Kaiba's chest, just to feel if his heart was thumping the same speed. His hand twitched at his side.

A cough behind him pulled him back to earth and when he turned around he saw Mokuba standing in the doorway, one eyebrow cocked and an amused smile playing around his lips. For the uptenth time this day, Joey could feel his face heating up. He lowered his gaze, and walked past the black haired boy, out of the kitchen, and heard Kaiba calling after him "The bathroom is upstairs, first door on the left."

"I left a towel out for you!", Mokuba added cheerfully.

As soon as he had opened the bathroom door, he dashed to the sink, turned on the cold water and splashed it across his face.

_What the hell was that?_ He was thinking frantically. The prospect of finding Kaiba in any way endurable would have sounded absolutely ridiculous to Joey a few days ago. He would have likely put it on the "10 Things That Are Less Likely To Happen than Christmas Falling on a Friday The Thirteenth" list. Still, he couldn't really deny the fact that he was feeling anything but hate or indignation for Kaiba right now. And he didn't know how to cope with that at all.

It didn't help things that the brunet stubbornly behaved in so unexpected ways that Joey had to almost constantly change his mind about him, none of the decisions for the worse of Kaiba.

Joey sighed and looked up in the mirror hanging above the sink. He immediately knew what Kaiba had meant with him looking terrible. His hair was nearly completely white, his face was covered with dough and what looked like a chocolate smudge was on one of his cheeks. His clothes weren't much better off. Stains of all kinds of cooking ingredients were sticking to his red jacket and something like raw eggs was dripping from his elbow. Deciding that the stains would not go away by just dusting himself off he decided to pull off the jacket, because he wanted to look at least a little tidier when he came downstairs again. His hair was less of a problem, because he simply washed it in the sink before drying it with the towel. Giving himself a quick once-over, he decided that this had to do and made his way out of the room and down the stairs again.

When he got back into the kitchen, he found one Seto Kaiba leaning over what looked like some glasses filled with black and white flummery, layered so it created a nice pattern. The brunet looked sideways at Joey, when the latter approached the interesting looking glasses.

"Your hair's wet", the brunet remarked in a matter-of-fact voice, returning his attention to his work. Joey noticed a half gone chocolate bar beside the cooking plate.

"What are you cooking?", Joey asked, hesitantly, because he didn't know if cooking was the best topic to talk to Kaiba about right now.

"Dessert, actually", the brunet answered, taking the glasses and putting the one by one into the fridge. "Since your… attempt to bake… did not work out, I decided to make something."

"Chocolate parfait", he answered to Joey's curious look, when he had turned around. "It's Mokuba's favorite food."

And there it was again, that warm feeling in the pitch of Joey's stomach. He tried to put it aside, though, concentrating on the conversation he didn't want to break off.

"Can I ask you something?", Joey said.

Kaiba seemed a little surprised, but nodded. " Technically you already did, but I take that you wanted to pose an actual question and not just a permission for it." He smirked at the blond with a twinkle in his eyes.

Joey huffed at the joke. He had almost forgotten about Kaiba the Sarcastic. Kaiba the Good Brother had been spending the majority of his time with him today.

"Why were you not upset about earlier?", he asked instead of a witty comeback.

"You mean when I came home to find the kitchen looking like a bomb had exploded in it?" Kaiba eyed him amused. "Well, first off, because I couldn't really expect anything less from you," Joey tried to object, but the brunet cut across him. "_secondly, _what use would it have been if I had thrown a fit, upsetting not only Mokuba on his birthday but also you, even though we had just decided to behave civil around each other?" He looked at Joey as if expecting a counter argument. Joey didn't have one, though.

"Look", Kaiba went on after a short pause, "I'm not really that good at all the show your affection stuff, but Mokuba is really important to me and I know I upset him enough with all the days I have to work late so I shouldn't make it worse with throwing fits at each and every little thing he might not have done completely to my liking", a weird look crossed the brunets face, as if he was about to say something else. He kept quite though and looked back at the cooking plate.

"I think Mokuba can be happy to have you as a brother." The words had come out so fast that Joey hadn't been able to hold them back.

Kaiba looked up and was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

"The delivery service", Kaiba explained. "I'll be right back." With that he turned and walked in the direction of the front door.

Joey stood there feeling more and more confused with himself by the moment. Had Kaiba just talked with him about his feelings? This was confusing. He huffed and walked in the opposite direction in the adjoining room, where Mokuba sat on the couch, skimming through some magazine.

Joey flopped down beside him, took a cushion from beside him and clutched it against his chest.

"Seems like I'm not the only one who is getting confused about his feelings for another boy." Mokuba called from beside him.

The cushion made contact with the black-haired boy before he knew what hit him.

…

The dinner went well, except for Mokuba's badly disguised attempts at hiding the knowing smiles he cast across the table whenever Joey dropped his knife or choked on his Chop Suey when Kaiba had asked him if he should open a widow because he felt a little hot.

After they had finished with the main course, the brunet stood up and walked into the kitchen only to emerge seconds later with the dessert that Mokuba wolfed down with delight, but only after Joey had embarrassed himself with a solo of "Happy birthday to you" that Kaiba outright refused to join and the blond didn't want to leave unfinished.

When that was finished as well, and all plates had been piled at the sink Kaiba turned to Mokuba.

"I think it's time for presents", he said. " Or rather _the present_." Joey looked sideways to see Mokuba looking really excited at his brother.

"Do you think you can get next week off of school?", he asked.

Mokuba looked puzzled. Then his eyes suddenly went wide and his mouth opened to form a perfect O. "Are you…- Is this- Do you mean what I think you mean?", Mokuba stammered, sounding astonished.

"So what do you say to a few days in London?"

The black-haired boy broke into a blinding smile. "Really?"

"Really," Kaiba answered.

"But doesn't the Cooperation need you?", Mokuba asked.

"They'll have to do without me for a week. I just landed a deal with a really important partner of ours, so that safes me some benefits for the next few weeks." Kaiba had a really smug expression on his face while he said that and Joey had to conclude that the meeting today abviously seemed to have gone quite well.

"I think Joey should come, too," Mokuba suddenly said making the blond jump in surprise. When Joey caught the black-haired boy's glance, he noticed the twinkle in the boys eyes. "He's your assistant…", he threw a smile at Joey from over his shoulder. "…and the internship time is not over when we go."

No, no, no. Joey regretted telling Mokuba all the details of the internship when they had been in the kitchen earlier. The black-haired boy looked far too smug right now. And a week with Kaiba was definitely not the wisest move in his current situation, even if the excitement building up in his body was telling him otherwise. Joey looked from the grinning Mokuba, a sudden urge to kick him under table seizing him, to Kaiba, who he had expected to look at least partly as stunned as the blond felt. He wasn't prepared for Kaiba to say calmly:

"I think you're right." He looked at Joey with an unreadable expression.

"_What!", _Joey shouted.

"Mokuba's right. We worked together for three days, from which the first was not very productive and the second a downright fiasco." Joey was unpleasantly reminded of his outburst earlier that week. "I'll have to go on a business trip on Friday and Thursday was your day off, if I remember correctly…?"That was true. The internship was only scheduled for four days a week. "…So, if Mokuba and I are spending next week in London, I can't really give you a positive grade for it, can I?"

Joey wanted to shout: "_Yes, you can!", _at the brunet. This was going the complete wrong way. Kaiba was still looking at him, surely expecting some kind of reaction from him, but right now, Joey wasn't able to do or say anything. When he glimpsed Mokuba's smug expression, though, a sudden inspiration struck him. If Mokuba wanted war, he could fucking well have it.

"I'd like to a lot, actually", he said slowly, his face turning to the black-haired boy. "But if your brother has someone to go on the trip with him, then shouldn't the birthday child as well?"

Mokuba was looking pretty calm for a moment, before he seemed to catch on, eyes widening.

"I think Noah should come, too, he is a _very _good friend of yours, isn't he?"

Mokuba looked flabbergasted. "No, -he, well—yea, I mean, - he _is_ my friend, but… -"

"Then it's settled", Kaiba said. "I'll give him a call first thing in the morning." He stood up. "I'll do the washing up now."

Turning around and walking out of the room, he was completely oblivious to the two remaining boys staring daggers at one another.


End file.
